Pneumatic tires are conventionally of an open toroidal shape defining a cavity. Closure of the cavity is completed by mounting the tire on a rigid rim. The tire has a rubber innerliner which is an exposed interior surface of the tire cavity.
It is desirable to provide pneumatic tires with an electronic device which may allow information about the tire to be transmitted to an external device. The incorporation of electronic devices within the pneumatic tire yields many practical advantages. For example, the information may facilitate the tracking of the tire during its lifetime during both the manufacturing and use of the tire. In one particular application, electronic devices integrated in or on tire structures provide the ability to track the tire for commercial vehicular applications. Commercial vehicular applications may include commercial truck fleets, consumer tires, aviation crafts, and earthmover/mining vehicles. In these and other applications, electronic devices can enable casing traceability and simplify fleet management. This type of tracking information may aid in maintenance planning and in designing new tires for such commercial systems.
Electronic devices may include sensors and other components for obtaining information regarding various physical parameters of a tire, such as temperature, pressure, number of tire revolutions, vehicle speed, etc. One such electronic device is a radio frequency identification (RFID) device, sometimes referred to as RFID tags or transponders.
Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One part is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information. The information stored and processed may include information that identifies the tire. The second part is an antenna for receiving and transmitting a signal to an external reader. The antenna may be a separate wire soldered or otherwise connected to the chip or may be printed or carried, along with the chip, on a substrate. As is known, the reader may also be capable of powering the RFID tag as well as receiving information transmitted from the RFID tag. Other components may include a host computer, a network, and an application program for evaluating or manipulating the information stored in the integrated circuit.
The electronic device is often packaged in other materials prior to securing it to the tire. Concerns associated with this package relate to durability of the package itself, the attachment of the package to the tire, and containment of the electronic device within the package. For example, under the adverse environmental conditions experienced by a tire during use, particularly the cyclic flexing of the tire sidewall, the package containing the electronic device may weaken with the end result being that the electronic device ceases to function.
Therefore, there is a need for effective packaging that can withstand environmental conditions experienced by the tire over the tire's useable lifetime while remaining secured to the tire.